Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
#1Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 8:45pm
Just wondering everyone's opinions on the top 10 Broadway performances of all time. My opinion (In no particular order)
Jonathan Pryce in Miss Saigon
Patti LuPone in Gypsy
Audra McDonald in Ragtime
Angela Lansbury in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Joel Grey in Cabaret
Nathan Lane in The Producers
Patti LuPone in Evita
Zero Mostel in Fiddler On the Roof
Colm Wilkinson in Les Miserables
Jennifer Holliday in Dreamgirls.
I know these are debatable, but they are my opinion. What is your Top 10?
Note: Don't mistake this for "favorite" performances. For example, Sutton Foster in Anything Goes is one of my "favorite" performances of ll time, but i do not believe it is one of the "best" performances of all time.
Updated On: 6/24/14 at 08:45 PM
#2Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 9:16pmHaven't put 10 together yet, but definitely Deanna Dunagan [Violet Weston]in AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY.
ethan231h
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/5/11
#2Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 9:25pm
Patina Miller - Pippin
Andrea Martin - Pippin
Rachel Bay Jones - Pippin
Alice Ripley - Next to Normal
Idina Menzel - If/Then
Jeremy Jordan - Newsies
LaChanze - The Color Purple
Alan Cumming - Cabaret
Linda Emond - Cabaret
Jessie Mueller - Beautiful: The Carol King Musical
#3Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 9:29pmAre these your "favorite" performances? The list sounds like basically every recent performance on Broadway...do you have knowledge of the performances of the past?
#4Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 9:31pmUnless anyone has seen every Broadway performance of all-time, a definitive list (obviously) is impossible. Thus, all lists will be telescoped to an individual's awareness. Either shows they've seen (perhaps they just started seeing Broadway in the last year or so, apparently...) or shows they've read about and formulated a general consensus.
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
#5Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 9:37pmYes, but there are broadway geeks who are aware of a _lot_ of performances. It's kind of like people will say their favorite movie of all time is "Ferris Bueller's Day off," but if asked if they think that is one of the best movies of all time, hey will say "no." (most of the time haha). There are plenty of "best" lists...especially for cinema, I don't think it's hard to make one. A lot of the performances I listed are not my favorites. But I respect the extra quality in the performances, and I hold them to a higher esteem
chrisampm2
Broadway Star Joined: 5/26/07
#6Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 9:45pm
Steven9, did you see those performances live?
Here's what immediately comes to mind of what I've seen:
Peter Firth - Equus
Alan Cumming - Cabaret
Len Cariou - Sweeney Todd
Angela Lansbury - Sweeney Todd
Janet McTeer - A Doll's House
Amy Morton - August: Osage County
Patti LuPone - Evita
Stockard Channing - Six Degrees of Separation
Lily Tomlin - Search for Signs of Intelligent Life...
Lena Horne - The Lady and Her Music
Updated On: 6/24/14 at 09:45 PM
ghostlight2
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/5/04
#7Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 9:48pm
You can be aware of performances, but unless you've experienced them, you cannot have an opinion on them. Not a valid one, anyway.
I was very impressed with Victoria Clark's Light in the Piazza. Likewise Patti LuPone in Evita. Stephen Dillane in The Real Thing - all very connected performances - but these kinds of lists are mostly an exercise in futility.
I mean seriously - top performances of all time?
#8Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 9:53pm
Steven9, I think you want "Favorite performances you've witnessed", not "of all time".
How could I possibly compare Fanny Brice or Marilyn Miller to Patti LuPone, even if I take into account records and film clips?
Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#9Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 10:04pm
First show at 11, 52 years ago. Here goes, at least for 52 years:
DRAMA:
Colleen Dewhurst -- Moon for the Misbegotten
Irene Worth -- Sweet Bird of Youth
Zoe Caldwell -- Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Vanessa Redgrave -- Long Days Journey
Fiona Shaw -- Madea
Cate Blanchett -- Streetcar (DC)
James Earl Jones -- The Great White Hope
Derek Jacobi -- Cyrano
Jason Robards -- Moon for the Misbegotten
Jim Dale -- Scapino
Ian Mc Kellen -- Amadeus
MUSICAL
Barbara Harris -- The Apple Tree
Angela Lansbury -- Mame
Angela Lansbury -- Gypsy
Glenn Close -- Sunset Blvd
Bebe Neuworth -- Chicago
Nathan Lane -- The Producers
Christopher Plummer -- Cyrano
Hugh Jackman -- The Boy from Oz
Richard Kiley -- Man of La Mancha
Robert Lindsay -- Me and My Girl
The single best -- drama: Colleen Dewburst
The single best -- musical: Angela Lansbury -- Gypsy (ps -- I saw everyone but Merman)
Updated On: 6/24/14 at 10:04 PM
#10Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 10:04pm
Rosemary Harris in The Royal Family (as Julie)
Angela Lansbury/Len Cariou in Sweeney Todd
Mark Rylance in Jerusalem
Maggie Smith in Lettace and Lovage
Victoria Clark in Light in the Piazza
Jennifer Holliday in Dreamgirls
Charles Busch in The Lady in Question (off broadway)
Jerry Orbach in 42nd Street
Deanna Dunagan in August
Victor Garber in Assassins
Updated On: 6/24/14 at 10:04 PM
Claudia Draper
Featured Actor Joined: 6/14/11
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#12Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 10:09pmI agree: how can I truly judge/rank a performance I haven't seen.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#13Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 10:16pmRe Barbra, she was bored by the time I saw it...at 13, I could tell she as going through the motions...she even changed words as she went along, e.g., I talk this way because I'm ... French??
#14Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 10:26pm
Laurette Taylor in The Glass Menagerie
Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire
Ethel Merman in Gypsy
Yul Brynner in The King and I
Angela Lansbury in Sweeney Todd
Jennifer Holliday in Dreamgirls
Julie Harris in Member of the Wedding
John Raitt in Carousel
Two personal favorites of all-time:
Mary Alice in Fences
Cherry Jones in The Heiress
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#15Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 10:37pm
My personal top 10, of what I've seen in about 16 years I'd theater-going:
(In no particular order)
Mark Rylance In Jerusalem
Deanna Dunagan in A:OC
Audra McDonald in Lady Day (slayed me like something else)
Victoria Clark in A Light in the Piazza
Marin Mazzie in Ragtime
I need to think about the rest. Those 5 hit me right now.
#16Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 10:40pm
Film lends itself more to these type of lists since we can actually go back and watch those performances. It's pretty much impossible to do it for Broadway. There's legendary performances: Ethel Merman in GYPSY, Angela Lansbury in MAME and SWEENEY TODD, Bea Arthur in MAME, Joel Grey in CABARET, Laurette Taylor in THE GLASS MENAGERIE, the cast of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, Sidney Poitier in A RAISIN IN THE SUN. There's more contemporary ones that people always bring up: Natasha Richardson and Alan Cumming in CABARET, Donna Murphy in PASSION, Audra McDonald in CAROUSEL, Cherry Jones in THE HEIRESS and DOUBT, Christine Ebersole in GREY GARDENS, Jennifer Holliday in DREAMGIRLS, Raul Julia and Anita Morris in NINE, Kelly Bishop in A CHORUS LINE, Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, etc. So hard to actually track every single one of those down.
The highlights from what I've actually seen live:
Amy Morton in AUGUST: OC
Amy Morton and Tracy Letts in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
Christine Ebersole and Mary-Louise Wilson in GREY GARDENS
Laura Benanti in GYPSY
Geoffrey Rush in EXIT THE KING
Liev Schreiber, Jessica Hecht and Scarlett Johansson in A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Cherry Jones in THE GLASS MENAGERIE
Sophie Okonedo and Anika Noni Rose in A RAISIN IN THE SUN
Audra McDonald in LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR & GRILL
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
mjohnson2
Broadway Star Joined: 11/2/13
#17Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 11:19pm
Audra McDonald - Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill
Celia Keenan-Bolger - The Glass Menagerie
Alice Ripley - Next to Normal
Alan Cumming - Cabaret
Michelle Williams - Cabaret (shoot me, I don't care)
Toni Colette - The Wild Party
Mandy Patinkin - The Wild Party
Tonya Pinkins - Caroline, or Change
Joe Mantello - The Normal Heart
Entire Cast - The Scottsboro Boys
Anything regarding shows stated by this account is an attempt to convey opinion and not fact.
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#18Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/24/14 at 11:19pm
I would say using 1850 as a starting point through to the end of this season, it's pretty easy to say what The Top 10 Broadway Performances (not counting replacements) of All Time Are:
Stephen Spinella "Millennium Approaches/Perestroika"
Bert Lahr "Waiting for Godot"
Joe Mantello "The Normal Heart"
Stanley Tucci "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune"
Mark Rylance "Twelfth Night"
Lily Tomlin "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe"
Patti Lupone "Gypsy"
Harvey Fierstein "Torch Song Trilogy"
Kelly Bishop "A Chorus Line"
Betty Buckley "Carrie"
Twitter @NamoInExile
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mjohnson2
Broadway Star Joined: 11/2/13
#19Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/25/14 at 12:25amNamo, are you 164 years old?
Anything regarding shows stated by this account is an attempt to convey opinion and not fact.
LittleEdieFan
Understudy Joined: 12/21/13
#20Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/25/14 at 5:52amChristine Ebersole in Grey Gardens
#21Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/25/14 at 6:01am
Seeing Zero Mostel and Barbra Streisand discussed above, I am struck that even if one is 164 and has seen every show to play on Broadway, one cannot have seen every showing of every show.
And some of the most acclaimed performances--Marlon Brando in STREETCAR, for instance--were quite famously one performance per week "on" and seven performances "flat" or "off".
#22Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/25/14 at 6:21am
I'm only going to comment on those I've seen live (not in any order), and many/most/all are probably in the "favourite" rather than "best" territory, but whatever.
Angela Lansbury - DRIVING MISS DAISY*
Bernadette Peters - A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC
Marin Mazzie - NEXT TO NORMAL
Alice Ripley - NEXT TO NORMAL
Amy Morton - AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
Kelli O'Hara - BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY
Geoffrey Rush - A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO A FORUM*
Bernadette Peters - FOLLIES
* I just realised this is meant to be Broadway-specific, but whatever
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
Updated On: 6/25/14 at 06:21 AM
#23Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/25/14 at 7:10am
Elaine Stritch - Company
William Daniels - 1776
Christine Ebersole - Grey Gardens
Kelly Bishop - A Chorus Line
Angela Lansbury - Sweeney Todd
Colm Wilkinson - Les Miserables
Tovah Feldshuh - Irena's Vow
Audra McDonald - Lady Day
Lea Salonga - Miss Saigon
Joanna Gleason - Into The Woods
"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
-- Thomas Jefferson
#24Top 10 Broadway Performances of all time?
Posted: 6/25/14 at 10:28am
My top two
Gwen Verdon in Sweet Charity
Cliff Gorman in Lenny
Amazing.
